'World's oldest cat' who lived in Exeter dies at the age of 31
The 'world's oldest cat' - who lived in Exeter - has died at the age of 31.
Rubble had been with owner Michele Heritage since she got him as a kitten on her 20th birthday.
She says he became the oldest feline in the world in May last year.
52-year-old Michele puts Rubble's longevity down to the fact she never had her own children and pampered him like a child.
Rubble - who lived to the equivalent of nearly 150 human years - was a large, fluffy Maine Coon type cat.
The oldest cat ever according to the record books was called Creme Puff.
It was born on 3 August, 1967, and lived for 38 years and three days.
Michele says she "never went down the route of Guinness Book of Records".
"He grew old very quickly towards the end, I said to my husband at Christmas that I think it would be last we spend with Rubble. He had started to stop eating and only drank water.
"He became very thin. I went to work as usual and when I got home my husband said Rubble had gone over the road as he did every day and never came back, so we believe he went off to die as cats do.
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Michele said she remembers the exact moment that she first met Rubble.
"He was part of a litter cat that my sister's friend had and I had just left home. I was lonely living on my own so got him in as a kitten. It was in May 1988.
"If you care about something, no matter what it is, it does last."